Aeroplane fabric



C. P. SCHLEGEL.

AEROPLANE FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED AuG.9. I9Ia.

lQQQo Patented July l2, WZL.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS fabric coverin the wings.

narran strauss CHARLES P. SCI-ILEGEL, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK,

AssIGNoR To THE SCHLEGEL NEW YORK.

AEROPLANE FABRIC.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July l2, 11921.

Application filed .August 9, 1918. Serial No. 249,051.

To all whomz't may concern.'

Be it known that l, CHARLES P. SCHLEGEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplane Fabrics; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-nw merals marked thereon.

My invention relates to fabrics such as are used on the wings of aeroplanes and has for its object to provide a fabric of this kind which is light, strong and which is closely woven. A further object of my invention is to produce a fabric of this kind which can be cheaply woven on an ordinary Jacquard loom, and which, when in use, prevents friction of the air and reduces the tendency of the air to strip it from the machine to a minimum. More specifically the object of my invention is to provide a woven fabric for aeroplanes, in the form of a comparatively narrow strip having a selvage and which may be successfully used to join the edges of adjacent strips of the linen or other Tothese and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more ,fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

ln the drawings:

Figure 1 isA an enlarged planfview of a woven fabric involving one embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar View of a slightly modified form. 1

Similar reference numerals in the several figures indicate the same parts.

My invention relates to a fabric for use on aeroplane wingsvand comprises a cornparatively narrow closely Woven body portion having a selvage along its sides or a fringed edge and a selvage. rl`he body portion comprises a plurality of Warp threads with which the weft thread is interwoven, and the selvage comprises a plurality of comparatively small or fine warp threads spaced from the body Warp and with whlch the weft is also interwoven. but at fixed intervals or distances the weft is bent into a loop or bight around the outer thread of the body warp. ln aeroplane construction, the wings are covered with a fabric, prefer ably linen with the edges of successive strips adjacent each other or slightly overlapping. rlhe adjacent edges are then secured to each other by means of a narrow strip of fabric secured to the adjacent strips by glue, paste, varnish or the like, which is applied to the entire surface of the fabric on the plane to make it resistant to air, and to give it a certain degree of rigidity.' vStrips having torn or fringed edges have been used, but the pressure of the air at high velocity loosens the fringed edge, causing the strip to more freely offer resistance to the air which in time is stripped from the plane. My improved strip with a selvage for uniting adjacent edges of the fabric overcomes this difficulty since the warp of the selvage securely holds the adjacent and successive strands of the weft in position and prevents independent movement thereof, such as would tend to loosen the strip from the fabric in case the strip edges were merely torn or fringed as in the previous forms of construction referred to above.

rlhe body portion comprises a plurality of warp threads or strands 1, which are interwoven with a continuous weft 2. The weft 2 extends beyond the body portion of the warp Where it is bent into loops or bights as shown at 3 to form a fringe', or it may be interwoven with Warp threads 4 and looped around the outer Warp thread 5 to form a selvage. The warp threads 4: and 5 are finer than the warp l, as indicated in the drawings. At fixed intervals, the bight of the weft is formed -about the outer thread of the body warp, as shown at 6 in the drawings, to produce a closely woven fabric and prevent spreading of the body warp. Preferably, every sixth bight of the weft is formed about the body Warp and staggered relatively to each other on opposite sldes of the bod The warp 4 and 5 of the selvage is spacedn from the body Warp forming a comparatively loosely woven strip adjacent each side of the body which is traversed by the weft thread. rlhe loops 3 of the weft adjacent the loop 6, which draws the outer warp thread of the body slightly toward the body portion of the fabric, are spread slightly toward each other to provide a uniform spacing of the loops or bights about the warp 5.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:-

1. A fabric for aeroplanes comprising a body portion lhaving a plurality of warp threads and a continubus weft interwoven therewith, and a selvage thereon formed of a plurality of separate warp threads spaced from the body warp and interwoven with the weft, which is bent to form a bight about the outermost thread of the selva'ge warp.

2. A fabric for aeroplanes comprising a body portion having a plurality of warp vthreads and a-continuous weft interwoven therewith, and a selvage thereon formed of.

a plurality of warp threads spaced from the body warp and interwoven with the weft, which is bent to form a bight about "the outermost thread of the selvage warp, said weft being bent at fixed intervals about the outer threads of the body warp.

3. A fabric for aeroplanes comprising a body portion having a plurality of warp threads and a continuous weft interwoven 4. A fabric strip for uniting adjacent edges of aeroplane covering material comprising abody portion having a plurality of warp threads and a weft interwoven therewith, and a selvage thereon formed of a plurality of warp threads liner than those of said body portion and spaced from the latter and interwoven with the weft,r said weft having its threads normally extended beyond the body warp and bent to form a bight about the` outermost thread of said selvage warp, with an occasional weft thread bent to form a bight about the outermost thread of said body warp to hold the latter in place.

` CHARLES P. SCHLEGEL. 

